Echea
Encyclopedia
An echea or sounding vase is a pot, chamber or vessel, similar in function to a modern-day bass trap
s. They were originally used in ancient Greek theatres to enhance the voices of performers by resonance. They were usually made of bronze, but could also be earthenware if necessary for economic reasons.
Echea were placed with a "due regard to the laws and harmony of physics" according to the Roman writer Vitruvius
. The number of echea used and their positioning depended on the size and shape of the theatre. The vases operated by resonance, enhancing key frequencies of the performers' voices and absorbing those of the audience, thereby changing the sound in the theatre to make voices clearer and more lush.
Similar devices have been used in early churches, and some discovered in the vaulted ceiling of the choir of Strasbourg Cathedral
, and in mosque
s dating back to the 11th century.
Bass trap
Bass Traps are acoustic energy absorbers which are designed to damp low frequency sound energy with the goal of attaining a flatter low frequency room response by reducing LF resonances in rooms. They are commonly used in recording studios, mastering rooms, home theatres and other rooms built to...
s. They were originally used in ancient Greek theatres to enhance the voices of performers by resonance. They were usually made of bronze, but could also be earthenware if necessary for economic reasons.
Echea were placed with a "due regard to the laws and harmony of physics" according to the Roman writer Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
. The number of echea used and their positioning depended on the size and shape of the theatre. The vases operated by resonance, enhancing key frequencies of the performers' voices and absorbing those of the audience, thereby changing the sound in the theatre to make voices clearer and more lush.
Similar devices have been used in early churches, and some discovered in the vaulted ceiling of the choir of Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely consideredSusan Bernstein: , The Johns Hopkins University Press to be among the finest...
, and in mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s dating back to the 11th century.